ROLE OF MOSQUE AND RELIGIOUS LEADERS IN MOBILIZING COMMUNITIES AGAINST DRUGS

Comm. Taha M. Basman

UNESCO Commissioner and President, Philippine Islamic Council

 

(Paper presented during the “INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS/ISLAMIC SCHOLARS ON DRUG POLICIES AND STRATEGIES,” 27 February – 1 March 2006, Jakarta, Indonesia, Colombo Plan drug Advisory Program (CP-DAP)

 

     Alhamdulillah… Assalamu Alaikum.

 

     I praise the Almighty and I extend the greetings of Peace to all!

 

     The presence of your Filipino Muslim brothers in this Conference, despite the political turmoil raging in our country today, manifest in no uncertain terms the significance and urgency we place on the issues laid down for discussion in this gathering of Muslim scholars and Faith-based organizations. Our crisis in the Philippines is an Emergency, which implies tentativeness. On the other hand, the crisis we will discuss in this Forum is more serious since it will outgrow any political leader and government if Divine Will does not intervene to contain the problem.

 

     The drug menace has permeated every nook and cranny of the world. It has not spared a particular class or religious group. It has victimized all sectors of society – male and female, young and old, affluent and impoverished, modern and primitive, liberal and conservative, right and left, West and East, Muslims and everybody else alike.  In short, the menace does not recognize borders!

 

     The resort to spirituality now becomes imperative after all other efforts at neutralizing the onslaught of illegal drugs against the community seem futile.  This only shows the dismay of the duly constituted authorities in fighting the scourge.  By “throwing in the towel,” the government officials are now invoking divine intervention through the places of worship, like the mosque, and the affective “khutba” and/or “fatwa” of the religious leaders since the usual measures advanced to solve the drug problem only complicated the situation.  It behooves us, therefore, to summon all resources and assistance – even the unorthodox ones – to put to rest this moral, spiritual, familial, psychological, financial, and social decadence whose tentacles have destroyed all gains made in various fields of endeavor that promote peace and happiness in the community.

 

               

ISLAMIC VIEWPOINT

 

     Questions are asked on the basis of them all – our fight against drugs by Muslim leaders and governments.  Since “drugs” are not specifically mentioned in the Qur’anic prohibitions, the reference to “alcohol” (khamr) as stated in the Holy Book becomes very significant.

               

     One publication that explains in detail the Islamic viewpoint on the issue was written by Dr. Suleiman Bin Abdul Rahman Al-Hageel in 2001. According to this respected scholar, the penalties for “alcohol” and “illegal drugs” are comparable.

 

     The term “alcohol” (khamr) refers to any and all intoxicating beverages, and such is forbidden by Islam whether the amount taken is big or small.  As Allah (swt) declares, “O ye who believe! Intoxicants and gambling, (dedication of) stones, and (divination by) arrows are forms of abomination; they are Satan’s handiworks: Eschew such (abomination) that ye may prosper.” Moreover, as the Messenger of God (may peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Every intoxicant is a kind of alcohol, and all alcohols are forbidden.”

 

     In order for the penalty to be carried out against someone who has drunk, a number of conditions must be fulfilled, the most important of which is that the person be a healthy adult, and consenting Muslim in full possession of his sound faculties who knows that alcohol is forbidden in Islam.  If the person concerned is ill, the penalty still applies, but its execution is to be postponed until he recovers from his illness.

               

     Islam has prohibited alcohol because it operates in conflict with the intention in which Allah created human beings to live.  It paralyzes human activities; deactivates the mind; it corrupts one’s religions; it causes one to lose his morals; and it destroys the soul.  Its evil is not restricted to the individual alone; rather it goes beyond the person who drinks it to affect others, since he may kill, steal, and commit sexual immorality under its influence.

 

     This, then, reveals the wisdom in the prohibition of alcohol in Islam and the enforcement of the Islamically prescribed penalty against those who desire to drink. However, despite the clarity of this wisdom, some people claim that enforcing the Islamic penalty for drunkenness involves a violation of human rights.  Such a claim is invalid, for human beings are not simply free to drink whatever they please; rather they are bound to abide by the provisions of Islamic Shariah.  In fact, a Muslim is not free to do anything harmful to himself, since he does not belong to himself alone.  Hence, he has the obligation to abide by the public order, to be sensitive to other’s feelings, and to demonstrate solidarity with other members of society since they are a single body.

 

     The problem with drugs, on the other hand, is one of worldwide proportion and worse than alcohol.  In order to combat drugs, conferences have been convened, seminars have been held, and agreements have been concluded among various nation-states.  Various bodies and organizations confronted this plague, especially since drugs have become a danger threatening security in all countries of the world, both industrialized and developing nations.

 

     There is no explicit text in either the Holy Qur’an or the Sunnah of the Prophet (may peace and blessings be upon him) which sets forth the ruling on drugs, since drugs were not known during the life of the Prophet (PBUH).  Rather, they did not come to be known by this name until centuries later.  Due to the absence of the term in the Holy Qur’an and the Sacred Sunnah, Muslim scholars have taken pains to identify what this ruling is, relying on their deductions from texts and comprehensive rules within Islamic legislation.  Scholars from all the various legal schools are in agreement that illegal drugs of all forms are prohibited in Islam, and taking them is a major sin for which offenders have to be punished both in this life and the hereafter.

    

     Illegal drugs are prohibited in Islam because they operate in conflicts with the manner in which Allah created human beings to live.  The following are some of the reasons for which the Islam Sahri’a has forbidden drugs:

 

1.     Drugs drive people to commit acts of disobedience, thereby subjecting them to punishment both in this world and in the hereafter.

2.     They cloud the thinking and, in one way or another, cause alterations in the mind.

3.     Taking drugs causes serious harm to the health, damaging vital body organs such as the brain, the nerves, the liver, the lungs, and the respiratory system.

4.     They cause enmity and hatred, distracting people form the remembrance of Allah and prayer, and disrupting family ties.

5.     Drugs place the person who takes them in an uncomfortable position vis-à-vis the rest of society; he becomes an outcast who is hated by family members and others, who fear they might fall under the influence or be tempted to commit the same iniquities, since by using drugs, he has become unfaithful and untrustworthy.

6.     Drugs cause a person to appear in an undignified state, leading him to live immodestly and disrespectfully and robbing him of his usual self as a sober personality.

7.     Drugs produce deleterious effects in a person’s state of mind, feeling of inferiority, self-contempt, unhappiness, anxiety, and distress.

8.     They are a waste of money and bring no benefit to the user and which brings harm to the whole community.

9.     They distract the person from his work and from other productive activities which could bring benefit to him and his community, and

10.   They turn the person into a self-centered creature who spends all his wealth on his own pleasures and cravings, meanwhile abandoning his children and parents to fend for themselves. He demonstrates no solidarity with his community, since he neither pays zakat nor gives charity. He is, in short, a harmful member of society, and through this the wisdom of Islam’s prohibition of drugs are clearly seen.

 

     Illegal drugs may then be described as the crime of the age, whose victims are millions of people who are enslaved, then discarded.  The international community has attempted to deal with this problem in all possible ways, however, it has not been able to solve the problem by means of positive legislation.  Hence, the time has come for the international community to adopt the Islamic approach in combating this curse – that is, the approach which is harsher than the usual kiddie-glove treatment which we give to the drug lords, pushers and users.  The religious leaders, under the concept of “Ulil Amr” must go beyond the usual rounds they make in the communities to stop the menace by using also the pulpit and the facilities of the mosque to make the anti-illegal drug campaign effective. The above-enumerated points must be highlighted by the religious leaders in spearheading the community-wide campaign against illegal drugs.  It is now time to recall the past roles of the Mosque to accomplish this noble mission.

 

BEYOND THE PRAYERS IN THE MOSQUE

 

     The gravity of the “drug problem” necessitates the utilization of all institutions to come to the rescue of humanity and its abode, the community.  One such institution is the Mosque (MASJID).

     

     The roles of the mosque, however, changed over time.  Right now, the regular image of the mosque is that of a place of worship only.  There are moments, in fact, when in-between the five-time daily prayers, many mosques are empty of congregationists and useful activities – spiritual, educational, societal, and the like.  After the prayer, people leave the mosque to turn it into a haunted place without any spiritual or useful activity being undertaken within its premises.  It is, therefore, necessary to recall the versatility of the mosques during the heyday of the Caliphates.  We must go beyond the prayers to make the Mosque a citadel of spiritual, social, and educational programs to make the community free from the bad effects of illegal drugs.

 

     According to the noble scholar (Mubarakputri, 2004), the glowing and fervent faces of the Ansar and the hearty welcome which the people of Aws and Khazraj had accorded to the Prophet (PBUH) prompted him to construct, before doing anything else, a public center for the Muslims with the name of ‘masjid,’ so that matters relating to instruction, development, politics and justice might be accomplished there.  And as invitation to the worship of One Lord and Nourisher was the first  item in his programme, he considered it necessary, first of all, to build a place of worship where the Muslims should engage themselves in remembering Allah (swt) and glorify His name at the time of offering prayers.

 

     It was also necessary that he should create a center where the common members of the Islamic party (the party of Allah) should assemble every week on a fixed day and conduct discussions and consultations regarding the interests of Islam and of the Muslims, and should, besides meeting every day, offer Eid prayers there twice a year.

               

     The place (mosque) was not only a central place for worship. It was a place, where all types of Islamic instructions and orders were given and every sort of religious and scientific education was imparted, including reading and writing.  Till the commencement of the fourth Islamic century, the mosques served as schools which functioned at all times, except those fixed for offering prayers.  Thereafter, the educational centers assumed a special shape.  Most of the great scholars graduated from the educational circles which had been set up in the mosques.

 

     The Al-Aqsa Mosque also pioneered in the establishment of educational institutions within the premises to respond to the need of enlightening the congregation about important knowledge and information for their welfare.  These were the schools, as described by old researchers. (Prism; 2002)

 

Al-Tankiziyyah School:

     It is adjacent to As-Silsilih Door. It was built by Prince Tankiz An-Nasseri the Governor of the Levant.  He started its construction in 727 H. and finished it in 729 H.  It is a large school and has a complex at the western side of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

 

Al-Tuluniyyah School:

     It was build by Shibab ed-Din Al-Tuluni to the west of Al-Asbat Door, one of the northern doors of the mosque.  He dedicated it to Sultan Az-Zaher Barquoq.  When Barquoq passed away, his son Al-Nasser Farag took care of it.  When his sister Khawand Sarah died, she was buried in it.  After the death of Sultan Farag, Mohammad Sah el-Rumi bought the school.

 

Al-Qaderiyyah School:

     It was established by Prince Nasser ed-din Mohammed ibn Khalil Zul Qader.  The name was mentioned in different ways: Zul Ghader, Zal Qader and Dal Qader, but it is most likely Khalil Adham Zul Qader.  He belonged to the Qaderiyyah family that had ruled from 740 H. to 928 H. (1339-1521 A.D.) the region extending between Aleppo and Turkey. Prince Mohammad ibn Zul Qader died at the beginning of the month of Jummah Al-‘Akbar in the year 846 H./1441 A.D.

 

     Majid ed-Din reported that Prince Nasser ed-Din Mohammad ibn Zul Qader endowed a school inside the mosque built by his wife Misr Khatun in the reign of Sultan Birsbay. The school overlooks the northern riwaq of the Holy Mosque between the minaret of Al-Asbat Door and Al-Hittah Door.  On its top floor there is a mosque.  As for the riwaq, it was built before the school during the rule of Sultan Sha’ban in 769 H./1367 A.D.  The design of the Qaderiyyah School was closely related to its location that overlooks the Holy Mosque 9in Jerusalem).  (This school has endowment deed).

 

Al-Basitiyyah School:

     It overlooks the northern riwaq of the Holy Mosque (in Jerusalem) beside the Honorable Prophets’ (or Al-Atam) Door and a section of it is mounted on the Dawidareyya KHanqa (sufi school).  It was endowed by judge Zein ed-Din Abd al-Basit ibn Khalil al-Damashqi, the commander of the victorious armies and the ruler of the kingdom.  It was reported that the first one who laid down the school foundation was Sheikh Al-Islam Sheikh ed-din Mohammad el-Harawi Sheikh of Al-Salehiyyah School in Jerusalem and the administrator of the Two Holy Shrines.  He died before finishing its building and was completed by Abd al-Basit ibn Khalil who endowed it in Jummadi Al-Awal, 834 H.  The main entrance is elevated and is situated at the main southern facade of the school overlooking the Dome of the Rock.  The entrance has been closed and the school has been currently been transformed into an Islamic college.

 

     The Basitiyyah School is similar to the Qaderiyyah School as its design and constuction is closely related to its location that overlooks the northern riwaq of the Holy Mosque.  (The school has an endowment deed).

 

     On the other hand, the Mosque of Madina assumes the shape of a literacy center also.  Great poets of Arabia, whose compositions conformed with the moral and educational spirit of Islam recited their verses before the Prophet.  Ka’b bin Zuhayr read out his famous laudatory poem in praise of the Prophet before him in the mosque and received a large prize and robe of honour from him.  Hassan bin Thabit, who defended the honour of Islam by means of his verses, used to read out to him poems in the Mosque of the Prophet.

               

     Educational meetings in the Mosque of Madina, during the time of the Prophet, were so impressive that the representatives of the tribe of ‘Saqif’ were very much impressed by the scene; they wondered at the interest taken by the Muslims in acquiring knowledge.  Judicial matters and lawsuits were settled, and punishments were awarded to offenders in the mosque, and it was, for all intents and purposes, a court of law where the complaints of the people were settled.  Furthermore, the Prophet used to deliver his stirring speeches there to make the people perform jihad and campaign against infidelity.  Possibly one of the secrets of combination of religious and educational matters in the mosque was that the great leaders of Islam desired to show it practically that knowledge and faith are complementary to each other, and if a place is a center of faith, it must also be a center of knowledge and wisdom.  And if the judicial and other affairs including matters related to jihad were decided in the mosque, it was for the reason that he wanted to make it clear that his religion is not only spiritual which should have nothing to do with material matters, it is a religion which, while inviting people to piety and faith, does not also ignore the worldly matters and social welfare.

 

     This harmony (between knowledge and faith) is the motto of the Muslims even today.  When educational centers with a special shape were set up later, the schools and universities were always established by the side of Jami Masjids (central mosque) so as to prove to the world that these two factors of prosperity are not separate from each other.

 

     Mosques must be the center for jihad against the drug lords, protectors, pushers, and users if the Muslim communities have to be rid of society’s filth.

 

               

     Among the drug cases under study, thirty three (33.18%) percent attained high school education, followed by those who reached elementary education with eight (8.34%) percent.  This trend, more or less, is indicative of high literacy level among rehab center confines.

 

     With regard to occupation status, unemployed individuals dominated the distribution with thirty-two (32.64%) percent followed by those who were employed (non-government/government workers) with thirty-one (31.48 %) percent.

 

     The average income for rehab center confines/clients is P4, 858.90.  Interestingly, twenty-seven (27.90%) percent have been reported to be earning more than P5, 000 a month. While sixty-one (61.28%) percent failed to specify their income.

               

     More than half (55.62%) of the total number of client were National Capital Region (NCR) residents. Twenty0five (25.20%) percent were from Region IV, Ehile Region VII had five (5.91%) percent.

               

     Shabu abuse increased from fifty-six (56.95%) percent in 1994 to seventy-five (75.09%) percent in 1995, edging out Marijuana with a difference of twenty-five (25.4%) percent. This increase can be attributed to the increasing number of clients who were above twenty years old.

               

     Our fight against drug abuse is far from over.  However, with utmost dedication and cooperation from allied agencies and people involved in the fight against it, the realization towards a drug-free society may not be far from being attained.  The above data are shown to indicate their accessibility by the religious leaders, and their neophytes status implies relative ease in making them normal again if the mosque and the religious leaders are tapped to become partners of the community in the fight against illegal drugs.

 

Mobilizing the Community

 

     The religious leaders can mobilize the residents of the community through many ways.  Utilizing the local anti-drug councils, community members are encouraged to identify their own problems and plan strategies and implement solutions based on available resources.  The community approach employs the following activities:

·       Community assemblies within the Mosque premises: Here, the religious leaders talk to a large group composed of community leaders and influential people. The objective of the assembly is to exchange views and ideas on local drug problems. It is an opportunity for the religious leaders and drug abuse prevention workers to teach the participants relevant information about the drug problem thus motivating them to help in the crusade against drug abuse.

·       Town fairs. Town fiestas and fairs are excellent venues for putting across drug abuse prevention messages.  These messages may be incorporated in such activities as exhibits and contests.

·       Sports festivals.  These sports events provide the youth wholesome channels through which they can devote their excess energies.  Physical fitness programs develop their potentials in various sports activities.

·       Other community-based programs.  Recommended are contests in essay-writing, poster-making, slogans, jingles, painting, and other art activities.  The youth can also be tapped to help in community activities such as clean-up drives, tree-planting, summer camps, campus crusade and other spiritual-related programs.

·       Khutba and Fatwas on the issue of drug prevention must be regular to have lasting effects on the targets clientele.

 

CONCLUSION

 

     There are painful realities we have to accept on order to address the illegal drug problem effectively.  The Philippines, for example, has to grapple with the demoralizing record of having 3.4 million illegal drug abusers which constitute more than 4% of its total population.  As defined by the authorities in the Philippines, particularly the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM), Dangerous Drug Board (DDB) and the other Agencies, drug abusers are those who use illegal drugs at least twice (2x) a week.  At the prevailing rate of Philippine pesos 5,000 (USD100) per gram, the consumption of the drug abusers amount to the following:

                Weekly  – USD 340 million (PHP 17, 680, 000, 000)

                Monthly – USD 1.36 billion (PHP 70, 720, 000, 000)

                Yearly    – USD 16.32 million (PHP 848, 640, 000, 000)

               

     Illegal drugs, therefore, is a very big industry in the Philippines and the annual sales of USD 16.32 billion can almost wipe-out the foreign debt of the country if one annual sales volume is diverted for the purpose.

               

     It may interest our Muslim brothers and sisters assembled here today to know that of the 3.4 million drug abusers in the Philippines, Metro Manila tops the list with 1.8 million abusers, and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) particularly Lanao del Sur, ranks second.

 

     The Muslim religious leaders, not only in the Philippines and in Indonesia but in the whole world, must therefore, give serious thoughts about the moral and spiritual decadence happening in our midst. A caveat, however, is in order - we have to make our actions legal and acceptable to the duly constituted authorities, as well as the community, in order to sustain the program and make them attractive and effective.

 

     What do I mean by this?  At one time, when Lanao del Sur, where the Muslim population is 95% and the local ulama constitute about 80% of the total number of Muslim religious leaders in the Philippines, was mentioned to rank next to Metro Manila in the number of drugs abusers, the Muslim rebel group “Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) took up the cudgels of hosting Muslim Youth Drug addicts in Camp Busra for rehabilitation.  Many of the drug addicts were reformed, and some even became “hafiz” after staying in the rebel camp for a few years.  However, the rehabilitation program of the MILF had to be stopped when the Philippine Government got wind of the “illegal and illegitimate” activity.  And this is where the Colombo Plan, the Muslim Religious Leaders, and other Concerned Drug Boards can help – to establish Halfway Houses and/or Rehabilitation Centers right in the heart of Muslim communities (like Lanao del Sur) where illegal drugs are becoming a booming industry.  The Centers in Cotabato and Palawan cannot cater to the needs of the drug abusers in Lanao due to distance.

 

     Many organizations have declared their intention to join the efforts in the fight against illegal drugs.  Among these are: Philippine Islamic Council, the Center for Moderate Muslims, the Islamic Da’wah Council of the Philippines, the Markazo Shabab, the Tableegh, and the Government institution, Office on Muslim Affairs.

               

     At the rate things are going, we may be raising more questions than answer to the problems confronting us regarding illegal drugs. Some of the questions are:

 

1.     Shall we adopt the “life boat principle” of saving only the useful members of the community due to our “limited capacity,” and getting rid of the useless and bad elements of such community? (That means, shall we adopt the death penalty to punish the drug abusers even if our governments do not approve of it?);

2.     Shall we involve the religious leaders among the rebel groups (MILF, etc.) who have shown effective programs in the past? (That means, shall we legalize and legitimize the assistance of illegal and illegitimate groups?);

3.     Shall we allow the vigilante group (in Davao, and now in Manila) to continue “salvaging” the “drug abusers” due to the seeming helplessness of the duly constituted authorities to “arrest” the problem? (That means, shall we allow anarchy to reign supreme?); and

4.     Shall we allow the “mosques’ to operate like a half-way house and/or social welfare agency cum guidance counseling institution in order to transform the community into a haven of morally upright individual? (That means, shall we allow the mosque to shed-off its “ittiqaf” and spiritual images to concentrate on the reformation of the “sinners”?

 

     The list of contradictions can get longer but, in the end, we should ask ourselves, “Can we count on each one to fight illegal drugs, despite the odds and the ironies?” Thank you, wassalam!

 

 

REFERENCES:

·    Dr. Mohammad Ilyas Abdul Ghani, THE HISTORY OF MAKKAH MUHARRAMAH (1st Edition), 2004: Al Rasheed Printers (Translated by: Mufti Afzah Hoosen Elias)

·    Prof. Dr. Suliman Bin Abdul Rahman Al-Hageel, HUMAN RIGHTS IN ISLAM AND THEIR APPLICATIONS IN THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA (1st Edition) 2001: Sulaiman ibn Abdurrahman Al-Hujail (Translated by: Dr. Omer F. Atari)

·    Sh. Hamoud M. Al-Lahim, THE FOUNDATIONS WHICH MAN WILL BE ASKED ABOUT IN THE GRAVE AND ON THE DAY OF JUDGEMENT (2nd Edition) 2002: Islamic Studies Call & Guidance-Philippines (Translated by: Dr. Ibrahim S. Abu Nayyam)

·    ASEAN, Asean Plan of Action on Drug Abuse Control, 1994: Asean Secretariat, Jakarta

·    ASEAN, Medium Term Programme on Drug Abuse Control (1996-1998), 1995: Asean Secretariat, Jakarta

·    M. Fetullah Gullen, PROPHET MUHAMMAD: THE INFINITE LIGHT (2nd edition) 1998: Kaynak (izmir) A.S., Turkey

·    Syed A’ala Mawdudi, ISLAMIC WAY OF LIFE, 1996: Cooperative Office for Call & Guidance & Batha

·    David W. Maurer, Ph. D. & Victor H. Vogel, MPH, MD, NARCOTICS AND NARCOTIC ADDICTION (3rd Edition), 1971: Charles C. Thomas Publisher, Illinois, USA.

·    Shaikh Safiur-Rahman Mubarakpuri, HISTORY OF MADINAH MUNAWWARAH (2nd Edition) 2004: Maktaba Dar-ru-Salam, Research and Compilation Department

·    Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips, THE EVOLUTION OF FIQH, 1990: Tawheed Publications, Riyadh

·    PRISM, Ministry of Culture, Egypt Foreign Cultural Relations, Foreign Press & Information (FPI)

 

 

March 2006